For You, My Frozen Heart
by littletoucan4
Summary: Queen Elsa's new-found popularity in Arendelle attracts the attention of magical beings like Jack Frost. However, some "normal" people still see her as dangerous. From a faraway land, a mysterious figure arrives, wanting to meet with Elsa. (Possibly JackXElsa, depending on where I go with the story).
1. Prologue I: Fun with Ice

**Prologue I: Fun with Ice**

"What do you think, my Queen?"

In the bedroom, animals that were made of ice flew around Queen Elsa. Birds, fish, and even a plump pig - all so lifelike - encircled her, and behind them stood Jack Frost, a mischievous grin on his face.

"They're so cute!" Elsa exclaimed. "I- Wait, where did you go?" She noticed that Jack no longer stood where he was.

A puff of cold air brushed the nape of her neck. She jumped with a yelp. Turning to the source of the air, she saw Jack doubled over in laughter.

"Aaaahahaha!" he guffawed. "You're better at flying than I am!"

Elsa found herself laughing, too. Jack's antics and happy-go-lucky nature encouraged her to loosen her grip on her code of conduct; it was okay to act less like a queen, okay to laugh and dance and play like the young women of her age.

Suddenly, Jack appeared in front of her. "My Queen, you are indeed beautiful." He stepped closer. "Mayhap I have the pleasure of dance- Gah, you know, forget about the fancy talking." He grimaced comedically. "You wanna dance?"

"But there's no music," replied Elsa, laughing.

"Well, gosh, use your imagination!" Jack held his hands out, palms up. "You people have no faith!"

Jack was close enough for Elsa to lightly sense his breath. She could clearly see the sea in his eyes, the inward tilt in his brows, the subtle smile spreading his lips. Hesitantly, she placed a hand in his. His palm felt slightly cool to the touch, but not too cold. _Not as though I can be bothered by any sort of cold_, she thought.

Jack nodded at Elsa's other hand. "Both hands," he said. "Makes for a better dance."

Elsa brought her other hand closer to him. Then...

"Thanks!" Jack grabbed that hand and, with both of Elsa's hands, guided her in a circle of steps. He was next to her now, his cool breath sliding across her cheek. The two of them fell into a rhythm, their steps matching the beats of Elsa's heart.

A cold wind mixed with frost rose around the two as they danced. The way the wind moved - the brushing of air particles - made a steady undulating noise. To Elsa, it sounded like music.

* * *

Thank you for reading! I really wanted to make this seem romantic; I hope I did okay...?

Disclaimer(s): This is a fanwork


	2. Prologue II: Born of Fire

**Prologue II: Born of Fire**

"Over here!" yelled Jack. "I think it's safer!"

"Anna!" shouted Elsa. She grabbed her sister's hand and ran in Jack's direction. The rumbling in the earth continually threw her off balance, but she made absolutely sure never to let go. The two of them climbed up the debris blocking the alley and rounded the corner where Jack's voice was last heard.

"Wait-wait-wait-wait!" stammered Jack, running in the opposite direction and nearly bumping into Elsa. "Bad idea! Go back, go back!"

Everyone climbed back down the debris. A crackling sound could be heard behind the corner where they had just been. Yellow-orange light cast strange shadows on the buildings surrounding the alley.

"Jack!" grunted an exasperated Anna. "Thanks to you, we made four wrong turns! Kristoff would have gotten us out of here by now!"

"Kristoff is evacuating the townspeople-" interjected Elsa.

"I know he is," sighed Anna. "We could've gone with him, but _Jack _wanted us to go our own way."

"It's because Elsa and I are the targets!" retorted Jack. "And I never asked you to go along!"

"Well, _I _wanted to make sure Elsa was safe." Anna somehow managed to cross her arms haughtily while running. "Do us a favor and use some more of your magic so we can get out of here-"

"We're in stealth mode," Jack stated flatly, his teeth grinding.

"We don't want to get detected," said Elsa at the same time.

"Bah!" Anna rolled her eyes.

When they made another turn, Elsa beheld a sight that took her breath away. In the distance, under a plume of radiant smoke, her castle lay burning. Fire engulfed its walls and pillars and licked its spires, then extending to the sky like hands of shining gold. A screech echoed across the sky, and, as Elsa watched, the fire rose, expanding into the atmosphere like the wings of a phoenix.

* * *

_Whew! Well, that concludes the opening! Okay, some disclaimers: This is a fanwork. Therefore, it's inspired by Frozen, Rise of the Guardians, and Touhou but in no way affiliated to those franchises. Also, some Touhou characters are genderswapped._

_Most, if not all, of this story will take place in Arendelle, and you don't need to know anything about Rise of the Guardians and Touhou to read this. Please feel free to review/critique; I'd love your input!...Pretty please?_


	3. Chapter 1: A Cold Dream

**Chapter 1: A Cold Dream**

_Monster..._

Under a moonless night, eleven year old Princess Elsa tried to sleep. But she could not; despite the bed being made of the finest materials and clothed in the best silk one could find in the kingdom of Arendelle, the girl found herself in extreme discomfort. The drowsiness that was supposed to add weight to her eyelids - supposed to pull her into that cloud of fantasies and dreams - seemed so far away.

_...Monster…_

It had been three years since that incident with her younger sister. Elsa hurt Princess Anna that night. The two of them were playing - building a snowman - when Elsa inadvertently set her ice powers on Anna.

_...I'm sorry, but I think you may be a monster…_

Since then, nightmares sometimes interrupted Elsa's sleep. In them, she found herself standing in an empty room, surrounded by humanoid shadows. The shadows whispered among each other, and Elsa always had the feeling they were talking about her. But, every time she tried to say something to them, they would all turn their heads to stare at her, their eyes completely white, with no irises.

And she would wake up, covered with beads of frozen sweat and surrounded by floating ice particles.

* * *

In the pitch-black bedroom, Elsa mulled over her past nightmares for what seemed like hours until, finally, she fell asleep. Again, she found herself in that empty room. The dim lighting revealed shadowy figures that moved silently around her, whispering. She clamped her hands over her mouth; she feared that they would notice her and turn their head to stare at her. With those blank, white eyes…

"_Monster_," said a voice.

Elsa frantically searched for the source. Then she saw them. Among the shadows, a pair of scarlet eyes gazed at her. They seemed to emit light, as though fires burned inside them.

With her hands clutching tighter around her mouth, Elsa backed away from the sight. But with each of her steps, the eyes moved closer. Elsa struggled to keep a whimper from escaping her lips. What should she do? There was nowhere to run; she saw no doors nor windows in the room. Should she scream for help?

Around the eyes, a human form materialized - tall, with long hair that was the same pale color as hers. Maybe even paler.

A voice came from the figure: "I'm sorry, but I think…"

The figure frowned. "...I think you may be a monster," it said. "I have no choice but to…"

Elsa could contain herself no longer. Tears streaming down her face, she unclasped her hands from her mouth and yelled at the figure, "I'm NOT A MONSTER! WHY?! Why-"

The figure shrugged slightly and tilted its head. "It's not for me to decide, really." It suddenly strode to Elsa and knelt down in front of her. "That's why I said I'm sorry." It reached out with a pale-skinned hand and gently wiped away a teardrop from her cheek.

At this point, Elsa could see the figure's face more clearly. Yet she could not tell whether it was demon or angel, man or woman. But, to her, the expression the figure wore was clearly one of sorrow.

The figure raised a hand. To Elsa's utter disbelief, a pocket of golden-yellow flame grew inside the palm of the hand. The flame then moulded itself into the shape of a bird and started floating up. Elsa felt wonder replace her fear. Could it be that the figure is similar to her? She glanced at her own hands. Might she _make such things_ with her own powers?

"And I am sorry," said the figure, its head tilted toward the ceiling.

_What could it mean by that?_ Elsa followed the figure's eyes. Horror seared through her when she saw the little firebird touch the ceiling and explode in tongues of blistering heat and flame. In mere seconds, the entire room ignited. All the shadows disappeared, and Elsa was alone in the room as it fell apart.

"No!" she screamed, "Help! Don't leave me!"

"I have no choice but to kill your kind," came the figure's voice.

Elsa squatted down, her hands over her head. She was sobbing now. _What do I do? How do I get out-_

A thought struck her:_ ICE!_

She had forgotten her own abilities! With a yell of effort, Elsa planted her hands on the floor and turned everything around her into ice. A storm of hail and snow raged and raged around her until-

"_Elsa!_"

"Elsa! Help us open the door! Please!"

Elsa awoke. She sat up in her bed and turned to her bedroom door, now illuminated by the light of dawn. She heard her parents' shouts from behind the door; they sounded desperate and scared.

She realized that the door had been frozen over, and her entire room encased in a thick layer of ice.


	4. Chapter 2: The Hunters' Warning

**Chapter 2: The Hunters' Warning**

* * *

The King of Arendelle felt uncomfortable in the presence of the two strangers standing in his office.

One, a black-haired woman in her twenties, was oddly dressed; she wore a long robe of red, black, and white, tied together by a thick sash at her waist. Her side hair locks were gathered into two cloth tubes, both decorated by an ornate pattern that repeated itself on her robe. She stood tall, her height roughly the same as the King's.

The other, the King thought to be far less imposing. He was a bit shorter, and looked like a young man from sixteen to eighteen years of age. His wardrobe was far more typical; a thick coat and scarves blanketed him from neck to foot, and a cap covered his head and ears. He periodically shivered, presumably from the cold. The King found the young man's eyes to be the most interesting of his features: The eyes had deep red irises. This, combined with his blanched skin, made the King wonder if the man were an albino.

"And you say," the King said slowly. "That you're searching for a 'yoh-ca-ee'?"

"_Youkai_," said the woman, who had introduced herself as Hakurei. "You can say that _youkai_ are 'supernatural monsters,' which is the closest approximation to your culture's definitions."

The King felt a knot form in his throat. However, he suppressed the temptation to swallow. "And what sort of...youkai...are you looking for?"

"An elementalist, most likely one with the ability to wield ice in its various forms."

Keeping his breath steady, the King leaned slightly over his desk, feigning ponderment. "I have no knowledge of any sort of elementalist in my kingdom. I have heard some reports of trolls, but even that has so far has been rumors that were few and far in between."

"Our council declared the trolls in your area to not be a threat...at the moment," stated Hakurei, her gaze unblinkingly locked on the King's eyes. "But we detected dangerous levels of power in this elementalist. It could wreak havoc on your populace."

"I thank you for your concern...but I-"

"Your majesty." Hakurei's lips parted in a surprisingly sincere smile. "I'm sorry to say that our council is far more selfish than I am. I worry for you and your populace, but the council of Gensokyo merely worries about the safety of Gensokyo's borders."

Those words took the King by surprise. He struggled to find the right reply. "I, er, then, I'm sorry to say that still have no idea where to find your youkai."

For the longest time, Hakurei studied the King's face. "You don't have to apologize." She took her eyes off the king to gaze around the room, her sight brushing past the stacks of paper on the ornate desk, past the pictures of the Queen hugging a tiny Elsa and an infant Anna. "Sometimes, things fall out of our control…"

She let her last word fade out, something that struck the King as uncharacteristic of her. She smiled at him again. This time, the smile was even more sincere, more gentle, and the King felt reminded of the time he accidentally broke his mother's vase and profusely apologized to her; that smile that crossed his mother's face as she kissed him on his forehead and said that everything was fine...it was nearly identical to Hakurei's. The knot in his throat diminished.

"We will not take more of your time," said Hakurei. "We ask permission to leave."

"I have a question," said the King. He now felt it safer to ask questions. "What do you do to youkai...s?"

"We neutralize them."

The King felt his heart sink again. "May I ask, how?"

"Youkai vary greatly in their abilities, making it necessary to have multiple plans. I, as a priestess, can use spiritual magic - exorcism would be an example - to deal with them. But in this case, against an ice youkai, the council thought that Mokou's…" She nodded at the young man. "...ability to wield fire would be useful."

_Fire?! What in the world-_ Questions cropped up in the King's mind like a kettle of popcorn being cooked. He immediately forgot his follow-up question and simply said, "Thank you for your help."

As the King escorted Hakurei and Mokou from his office, he again found the encouragement to land one final question. "'Moh-cohh.'" He winced at the apparent butchering of the name. "Are you related in any way…"

"To youkai?" completed Mokou. He spoke softly, and his voice sounded..._tired_...as if he had just returned from a decade-long war. And yet, his facial features - his brow, his eyes, the contours of his nose - were subtly curvy, effeminate, strangely attractive in a girlish way. "No. I am a human." There was a finality in his words.

As he continued down the stairs toward the castle's entrance, he turned once more to the King and said, "By most definitions."


End file.
